NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Tuesday that an agreement is in place that will allow for Finland and Sweden to join NATO.

“We now have an agreement that paves the way for Finland and Sweden to join NATO,” said Stoltenberg after Turkey agreed to lift its opposition.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President Sauli Niinistö of Finland, and Prime Minister Andersson met in Madrid on Tuesday to sign a trilateral memorandum “to address Türkiye’s legitimate security concerns, paving the way for Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership. The memorandum was signed by the foreign ministers of the three countries – Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu of Türkiye, Pekka Haavisto of Finland, and Ann Linde of Sweden – in the presence of all three national leaders, and the Secretary General,” NATO said on its website on Tuesday.

We now have an agreement that paves the way for #Finland & #Sweden to join #NATO. I thank Presidents @RTErdogan & @Niinisto & @SwedishPM for the constructive spirit that made this historic decision possible. pic.twitter.com/dCEeoNjkOl

— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) June 28, 2022

Secretary General Stoltenberg said:  “I strongly welcome the signing of this trilateral memorandum, and I strongly welcome the constructive approach all three countries have shown during the negotiations. Finnish and Swedish membership of NATO is good for Finland and Sweden, it is good for NATO, and it is good for European security.”

Stoltenber welcomed Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson to the NATO Headquarters yesterday for discussions on Sweden and Finland’s application to join the group. “The Secretary General said the security concerns of all Allies must be taken into account as part of the NATO accession process and that Türkiye’s concerns are legitimate and must be addressed,” NATO wrote on their website.